Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is welcome. Some of my points have already been raised but I will raise them again anyway. The first relates to capacity in the system, which is an ongoing problem, as we hear from parents and childcare providers. Many parents contact me because they cannot find somewhere to leave their newborn child when they need to go back to work. A childcare provider I talked to yesterday said her waiting list at the moment is between 230 and 240 children, 58 of whom are under the age of one. She has the capacity to take three babies. She said a lot of childcare providers are not even providing childcare for babies. They are not doing a baby room anymore. It is a huge problem.

We are assuming that every mother who gives birth can take the full year off but that is not the case for all mothers. When their maternity leave is up, many of them have the option to take unpaid leave and do so if they can but others cannot afford to do so and may need to return to work when their baby is anything from six to nine months old. Parents cannot find childcare places for such children. I have mentioned the situation for children under the age of one but there is also a problem for children under the age of two.

The Building Blocks capital programme is aimed at extensions to cater for children between the ages of one and three. Again, children under the age of one are not being catered for at all. There is an assumption that every parent will take a full year's leave but, as I said, that is not the case.

I want more investment in community childcare places. That is important. We need to support both private and community services at the moment but we need a greater move to community childcare in general.

Staffing is an issue. A childcare provider told me that she had never before had an issue with staff but they are now leaving to become special needs assistants, SNAs, or teachers, or are leaving to work in different sectors, for example for the HSE or Pobal. It is not just a matter of pay but also of conditions. It is about staff wanting paid maternity leave, more sick leave and better holidays. There are many different factors, perhaps including pensions. It is about pay and conditions. The childcare professionals in the sector are highly qualified and have level 8 degrees in many cases and yet are on a very low wage. That needs to be examined. There have been improvements in recent years but they have not gone far enough. Some childcare providers have told me that the six-week turnaround time for applications for a Building Blocks grant - for an extension, for the construction a new build or for a new premises - is tight because the application requirements are extensive. If planning permission is needed, sometimes they may need more time to get the planning permission required and to do the necessary work in order to make sure they get the grant. They are required to have five quotes from builders, but some of them said they are lucky if they get one quote. That is just a reflection of the shortage in the construction sector. They are also finding it difficult to get the builders and tradespeople to build the extensions or new-builds needed by their service.s

There are a number of new childcare services being started, which is very welcome. I am not sure what the available supports are. Can the Minister outline whether there are any supports available? The Building Blocks capital programme is for providers that are already in existence and registered with Tusla. Can the Minister outline if there are any supports for new services rather than just for existing services?

With regard to the national childcare scheme, NCS, I have been asked why there could not be a universal subsidy for everyone. There is a universal subsidy for a household that has an income of €60,000 or more. For those earning less than €60,000, it is an income-assessed subsidy. While I am sure there is a reason for it, I do not know what that reason is. One childcare provider said she has to raise her fees because of the rise in costs. She said it would not affect the people who are in receipt of the universal subsidy but rather those who have the income-assessed subsidy. She said there is almost an assumption that those on the income-assessed subsidy are not working, and are instead dependent on social protection and at home. She said that is not the case, however. There are a lot of parents, and mothers in particular, who are working full time but in quite low-paid jobs. Therefore, it is having an impact. They will have to increase the amount they pay whereas those on a higher income will not. Is it possible to ensure there is a universal subsidy for all parents in this situation?